


Making an effort

by CestPasDuBaudelaire



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Hannibal (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Hannibal is having his fun, In Character Fashion, M/M, Therapy, couple counseling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26649274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CestPasDuBaudelaire/pseuds/CestPasDuBaudelaire
Summary: “You told me, and I quote, "If you want it to work, Gellert, you'll have to make an effort.” That’s me, making an effort.”“Gellert, I was talking about stopping mass murdering! Not couples therapy!”*Hannibal didn't know what he was in for, when he accepted to help those two souls find their way back to each other. But all in all, he doesn't regret it. From the sister's mysterious death, to the looming world war, to their sex life and their relationship with their mother, he will get to the bottom of things, and, if he feels like it, he may just help to repair the many cracks in that cursed love./!\ No need to have any knowledge of Hannibal. You may read it as just a therapy session with a brilliant psychiatrist, with weird cannibalistic thoughts from time to time. No reference to the show other than that.
Relationships: Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	Making an effort

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KikiandCompany](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KikiandCompany/gifts).



> Salut les gens!
> 
> I never thought I would write a Crack Fic. But here we are. Though, keep it mind that, even if the tone is light, I'm taking it very seriously, our two dear boys need all the help they can get, right?
> 
> Anyway, english's not my frist language, so feel free to point out any infuriating mistake you may see. In the meantime, I hope you'll still be able to like it! 
> 
> Also, it will be a bit like a series of drabbles, even if there is an evolution between each chapter, so if there is a topic you want our dear lovers to address in those sessions, don't hesitate to tell me. I have several in mind, but I'm willing to take requests.

**PROLOGUE**

_**Ending mass murdering or going to therapy, the choice is made.** _

Dr. Hannibal Lecter didn't usually do couples therapy. He was much more interested in the torments and questions of lonely souls and could not find the necessary intimacy and the special connection that comes from a one-to-one relationship in a duo, so he abstained. In general. But there was nothing general about this case.

There were a number of reasons why he had reconsidered his couple’s policy to the point of making an exception out of it. First, he had been specifically requested. The person who had made contact had insisted that they needed Hannibal and no one else, and, when questioned further, the person had emphasized Hannibal's impeccable reputation and unparalleled ability in the fields of psychology. Now, Hannibal, if he were to find himself a flaw, would have pointed out a slight sensitivity to flattery. He liked to be recognized for his talent and accorded principled respect to all who were sensitive enough to recognize the intellectual and cultural superiority of the psychiatrist. Second, there was nothing anecdotal about the patients in question. The two infatuated souls who were about to listen to his advice were none other than Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore, which made the previous compliment even more flattering. Hannibal was not part of their world, but he had heard of it. Enough to know that Grindelwald was on the verge of revolutionizing history and that his lover, Dumbledore, recognized as the most powerful and clever wizard, was the one who was supposed to stop him. Firstly, both patients were important and considered exceptional people who came to submit to his judgment, advice and help (if he was willing to offer it, of course), and secondly, their dynamic between love and hate was going to prove fascinating to dissect. All in all, Hannibal, always in search of spiritual challenge and exaltation, had to admit to himself that he was eager to get down to the task of reconciling or tearing apart these cursed lovers as he wished.

For the occasion, Hannibal had prepared himself. He had made sure to leave the two time slots before the meeting empty, so that he had time to get his notes in order, to make the necessary phone calls, to prepare his interview lines for the next day, so that he would have complete freedom of mind about what was to come and could spend the rest of the evening pondering about it. Then he took his time to walk around his office and make sure everything was in its place. Hannibal was confident enough in his keen eye to know that he hadn't missed a single imperfection, the pencils were lined up, the tissues were folded in their boxes or worn out in the trash, no books were sticking out of the shelves, the leather of his furniture was spotless without a trace of wear and tear. However, the Doctor considered that it was the least respect he could do for his clients than to take a look around before they arrived. At least for those he considered worthy of his respect, it was self-evident.

Then, the time he had left, he had spent leafing through the few wizard papers he had got his hands on, the day after the announcement of the future meeting. This allowed him to draw a mental portrait of Grindelwald, although he was eager to discover the contradictions it would have with the man in front of him. As for Dumbledore, some information was given, especially in relation to a new discovery, or a new paper published, but nothing to do with Grindelwald. Their relationship seemed to be absolutely unknown, and it made Hannibal even more amused to be in confidence. He was going to be entertained for sure...

At the precise time of the appointment, the Doctor put away the newspapers in his desk, got up, needlessly smoothed his turquoise jacket and went to open the door of the waiting room. The two men were waiting for him there. Albus Dumbledore immediately caught his eye. Less Albus Dumbledore than his clothes, in fact. The man, in his blossoming forties, wore a visibly custom-made three-piece suit, which fitted perfectly with his long and particularly slender body. And the suit was a blinding plum colour, adorned with large yellow stars that reflected the surrounding light as if they were small LEDs. Hannibal had to hold back a regurgitation movement. He was a strong proponent of eccentricities. But even the most extreme of them had their rules and style to which they had to submit themselves. This... thing... that Albus was wearing didn't submit to anything or anyone, and certainly not to good taste. At that second, as Hannibal's eyes tried to recover from the attack, the Doctor knew he would never take a piece of that man. He had no original intent to do so. He ate rudeness and he was sure that the man in front of him was the most socially exquisite. But, at that moment, and for the rest of their lives, Albus could spit in Hannibal's face that Hannibal wouldn't eat him. He would be too afraid that this atrocity in direct contact with the skin of his meal would have gangrenated the meat itself. No star-shaped LEDs on his main course. Even he set limits to inhumanity.

Gellert Grindelwald, on the other hand, attracted little attention. Stylistically speaking, the man was relatively forgettable. Black on dark blue, almost black, a martial wizard's outfit, tight to the body. Elegant but of a dull simplicity on which Hannibal's knowing attention did not suffer to stop. The man was standing, leaning carelessly against one of the walls, eyes and face closed. As for Albus, sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting room, he was looking around, curious and visibly unaware of what he was doing there. The fact that Hannibal had only Gellert as an intermediary led him to suspect that the decision to come and see him might have been a one-sided one. Moreover, the Doctor's trained eye could not help but notice that the two men stood in opposite corners of the room and seemed to barely acknowledge the existence of the other, although as soon as one seemed distracted by something else the other's gaze would quickly and discreetly linger on him before rushing off again. Hannibal was going to have work to do.

"Good evening, gentlemen.”

The attention of the two men landed on him and his patients quickly got up. Grindelwald immediately imposed himself, passing Albus with authority, as if he thought it his duty to lead the way. He came to stand a few centimeters away from Hannibal, inside his personal space, and shook his hand slowly but firmly, staring steadfastly at him.

"Good evening, Doctor. It's both an honour and a pleasure to meet you.”

His voice, although deep and castling on some consonants, was most pleasant, almost whispering, even though no smile softened his face. For a moment, Hannibal wondered whether the man was trying to seduce him or threaten him, before he realized that he was doing both. When he'd finished greeting the man opposite, Grindelwald turned to Albus, as if he was reluctant to leave the floor to him, but finally he deigned to take a step towards the office. Dumbledore took his place, with a much more expected social behaviour. Respecting fundamental distances, he offered a warm and gentle hand to Hannibal, and the Doctor could see in the smile that accompanied the greeting a kindness and lightness that was the opposite of their absence on Grindelwald’s face. As the Psychiatrist responded to the greeting and welcomed the client, he couldn't help but look at Grindelwald's dirty gaze from a few yards away. Apparently, the problems of possessiveness would soon have to be addressed in their future discussions.

"Please, gentlemen, take a seat.”

As Hannibal went to sit in his usual chair, the two men took their seats on the couch. It was obvious from the way Albus crossed his legs and leaned on the armrest that just sitting next to his lover made him uncomfortable, although the Doctor had not yet been able to determine whether this discomfort was related to the presence of the lover, or to the weight of an outside gaze. Gellert, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed nothing and had settled down with great ease, not hesitating to encroach on the half rightfully belonging to Albus, either in great ignorance of the latter's uneasiness, or in an obvious joy of provoking him further.

"I want to tell you first of all that asking for help is the most important step to take in any couple therapy. You've taken the hardest and most important step, believe me. Now I would like you to tell me why you made that choice. You, Albus, for example?”

“So... choice, that's a strong word. Actually, I didn't know it was couples therapy until you said the words uh... -he rolled up his sleeve to look at the watch shining on his wrist- four seconds. And, beyond that, I didn't even know we were going anywhere tonight until Gellert apparated me here by surprise.”

“I see. How about you, Gellert?”

“Albus asked me, so here I am.”

“Excuse me? Albus intervened immediately, genuinely surprised. I don't remember asking anything like that in the least.”

“You told me, and I quote, "If you want it to work, Gellert, you'll have to make an effort.” That’s me, making an effort.”

“Gellert, I was talking about stopping mass murdering! Not couples therapy!”

“How was I supposed to know that?”

“I'm pretty sure my whole sentence was, "If you want this to work, Gellert, you'll have to make an effort. I'm begging you, surrender to the authorities, and stop your mass murders." That sounds pretty unequivocal to me.”

“Yes, but you keep repeating the same things, so I've gotten used to not listening to the end of your sentences. In this case, I stopped at the word effort. It's hardly my fault.”

“Doctor," intervened an angry Albus, calling Hannibal to witness that, "I guess you can see where the problem lies now!”

The Doctor had observed the argument with great interest. Clearly, the tension was bubbling between them and could not help but explode spontaneously in the midst of the most anecdotal conversations.

"I can see that there are indeed conflicts between you. We'll get to that. Now, let's start things in order. I'd like to learn a little more about you personally. Who you are outside of this couple. Gellert, tell me, who was Albus before he met you?”

“A lonely, bored soul, doomed to disappear in the midst of mediocrity and held in slavery by his lack of ambition and daring.”

“It's very interesting," Hannibal said as he saw Albus rolled his eyes, “but in a concrete way. Do you have dates, facts?”

“He was born two years before me, in a small house in Mould-on-the-Wold, a Muggle village. His father was Archeomage and his mother was a collector of alchemical and potionic materials for a shop on the Daigon Alley. Two years after Albus was born, he had a brother, an insignificant idiot named Aberforth.”

“...Aberforth is not an idiot!”

“...Albus, love, I'm telling the story, do you mind..."

Albus gave Hannibal an outraged look, but Hannibal motioned to ignore the insult and let Gellert continue.

"Two years later, he had a sister. Ariana. She... was... fine. She was... a good person.”

The Doctor of course noted the use of the past tense but did not comment on it at all. He knew the subject would come soon enough.

"I think it was a rather happy childhood. All five of them lived together, although Percival, the father, was often on missions abroad. Sometimes he even took Abus with him, so he was able to travel a little despite a rather routine life. He was already brilliant by then. At the age of eight, he had a reflection published in a monthly research magazine on the reason for the place of wands in western magic. I remember reading it when I was in Durmstrang. It was brilliant, really. It made a connection between social and cultural conditioning and magical mutations throughout history!”

Hannibal couldn't help but notice the strange glow in the speaker's mismatched eyes and the unusual activity of his facial muscles. Gellert was still admiring Albus, at least that was obvious.

"Anyway... a few days before Albus' eleventh birthday, his sister was attacked by Muggles and developed an obscurus.”

The Doctor did not intervene, but Gellert seemed to feel a slight flutter in his listening.

"An obscurus is a parasite. When a person suppresses their magic, it transforms itself into an autonomous entity that feeds on its host and develops its own aggressiveness until it kills its own host, usually before they reach 10 years of age.”

“You've never heard of them?" Albus wondered, as he seemed to have difficulty to see how an adult and educated wizard could be unaware of the existence of the obscure.

“I'm not a wizard," Hannibal thought it best to clarify.

“Oh, you're a Squib?”

“No, I'm not a Squib either. Just a simple Muggle of muggle origins. I stumbled upon the existence of the wizarding world when I was 16 and studying history as an amateur. I noticed gaps, strangeness in the narration of certain events, and with further research, I discovered the existence of your world.”

“Really?" Albus wondered in disbelief. “At the age of 16? That's impressive! Did you make contact with the wizards at that time?”

“No, I wasn't really interested. I wasn't very impressed by what I saw. Sure, magic can be spectacular, but wizards... not so much. Artistically, scientifically and socially, your society is not very advanced, with all due respect. I prefer the muggle people. They're much more resourceful and creative, from what I've seen.”

Gellert ticked slightly, but Albus had a delighted laugh.

"That's the first time I've ever heard that. But it's true, Muggles have evolved so much and created so much when we just obey the same laws and use the same spells since Salem.”

“I'd be happy to talk about the joys of inventing cinema anytime you want, but for now, can we get back to me and the story I was telling?” asked a Gellert who was visibly annoyed by Albus' new appreciation for their doctor.”

“Yes, of course, so Ariana became an Obscurus.”

“No, she developed an Obscurus. She became an Obscurial. In revenge, Percival attacked the muggle children and was thrown into prison. Kendra, the mother, had to quit her job to take care of Ariana full-time, and the family moved to the wizard village of Godric's Hollow. Life was pretty tough after that. Financially, it wasn't easy, and the days revolved around Ariana, from what I understand. Shortly after that Albus went to Hogwarts, where he found himself a filler of some kind called Elphias. The first few months were difficult. A Gryffindor with a father who was thought to be a Muggles hater, he was bullied quite a bit, but it soon got sorted out. Albus redeemed his reputation rather quickly, and by the end of the year everyone loved him. He was... these titles that they give the students at Hogwarts...”

“Prefect,” Albus helped.

“That exactly. Award for best tool of the system. He had the best titles, the best grades and left school with the idea of going around the world with his filler. But his mother died, killed by Ariana. He still feels guilty about that, which is laughable because he's not. So he put an end to his plans and decided to stay at Godric's Hollow to take care of his sister and the other idiot. That's how we met. I spent the summer at my great-great-aunt which was Albus' neighbour.”

“Albus, do you have a problem with that version of the story?”

“Yes, a few. Aberforth isn't a idiot, he's my brother. Elphias isn't a filler, he's my best friend.”

“You can have an idiot brother and have a filler for a best friend, but that doesn't mean...”

“Gellert, please. We need to hear what Albus has to say about the version you shared of his story. Albus, were you surprised by anything that was said?”

“No, not at all. Gellert is always true to himself. It doesn't even surprise me anymore.”

“What's your version of Gellert's story?"

Albus took a deep breath and leaned more against the sofa, seemingly forgetting his original discomfort of being next to his lover.

"I'll admit, Gellert didn't have the happiest childhood. It was pretty awful, I know that. He was born into an extremist religious cult somewhere in Germany. The kind of place where it's better not to be different. A life ruled by religion and submission to dogma. His father was the founding leader of this community. I understand that he was a very charismatic man, around whom everything revolved, and particularly gifted at making others feel that they belonged to something greater. Clearly, Gellert learned a lot from him. But they didn't get along. His father was a pretty awful person to him. Gellert was born different from the others, and his father immediately saw him as marked by the devil and as an ordeal that God was sending him. Gellert doesn't talk much about it, but I understood that it was a violent and abusive environment in which he had to grow up in spite of everything. He went to Durmstrang when he was 11 years old. The first year he was rather silent and isolated, but soon he became the most popular and beloved student at the school. The teachers worshipped him; half of the students were in love with him. Even the headmaster saw Gellert as the pride of Durmstrang. Afterwards, since Gellert never ask himself many questions about morality, he…”

“Excuse me? Tell me, Albus, which one of us is trying to end the oppression of the entire wizardkind, and which one of us locks himself in a castle to make sure he has nothing to do with anything?”

“Gellert, I agree that this is a difficult exercise, but it is important that you let Albus speak.”

Hannibal ignored Gellert's eye roll and turned to Albus with an encouraging nod.

"Please continue.”

“Let's just say that... Gellert has moral values, but in a very uneven way. Depending on the subject, he can be the most unbearable moralist or the most inhuman I-don't-care person. All this to say that he has not bothered with notions of legality, and has done a lot of research on dark magic, research encouraged by the director. But as he grew up and entered his adolescent crisis, Gellert began to rebel against the hierarchical and martial functioning of Durmstrang. He questioned authority, and authority couldn't afford it. So Gellert was fired for research that the director had validated a few months earlier. I agree it's unfair, but at the same time the research was illegal. And Gellert wasn't particularly devastated by his expel. The rest is a bit of a blur, but I know that he went home to his parents, and two days later his house caught fire and he found himself on the doorstep of my neighbour, his great-great-aunt.”

“So, that's how you two met?”

“That's how we met. The day after I arrived at Godric's Hollow. A little less than a week after Albus' mother's funeral.”

“I see. How did your relationship go at first? How did you two get together? You two try telling me that story together.”

Albus turned to Gellert, as if trying to silently define which one was going to speak first, but Gellert didn't bother and started immediately. Hannibal made a mental note.

"It was done very quickly. As soon as we spoke for the first time, we understood.”

“As soon as we shook hands, for me. Even before, as soon as I saw you. I knew Gellert was special.”

“I must say, he'd never seen such an attractive boy before, especially if his standard was at Filler Boy’s level. But we knew we were meant to be together when we started talking to each other.”

Hannibal noticed that Albus did not react at all to the first part of Gellert's statement. He did not seem to doubt for a moment that they were indeed made for each other.

“We both understood," Gellert continued, "that we had just met our equal. It had something to do with destiny, at the very least. I knew within the first hour that Albus was madly in love with me. For my part, it took a little longer to see the point of getting together. Finally, we took the plunge.”

“With the very insistent and embarrassing help of Bathilda, his great-grand aunt, who absolutely wanted to see us together.”

“I think she even applauded after our first kiss.”

“Oh! Was that the noise?”

“I think it was.”

“But... how did she know? We were on the roof.”

“She was watching us from the kitchen window. She used to watch us all the time, when we were alone, at first, to see if we'd finally get together...”

“Even the time in the tool shed?”

“Especially that time.”

“Oh...”

“So," Hannibal resumed to refocus the conversation, "how did you take that step?”

“It was Albus' birthday," Gellert remembered, “mid-July. We'd spent the day together, then in the evening we decided to stay in my room. At one point in the night, I decided to take Albus up on the roof to look at the stars. I stole a bottle of Firewhisky from Bathilda’s private supply and we drank it, sitting under the stars. And, at one point, he kissed me.”

“That must have been a nice moment.”

“Then he insulted me and he disapparated.”

“Which breaks the moment a little, I can guess," Hannibal said stoically.

“I didn't insult you!" Albus defended himself.

“I seem to distinctly remember a "Fucking idiot" being uttered.”

“It was me I was insulting, not you!”

“Anyway," Gellert resumed to Hannibal's attention, "Albus locked himself in his house and refused to come out or see me for three days. I had to break in, and when I finally saw him, I thought he was going to attack me.”

“So you didn't respect the distance he wanted to put...”

“If I had respected them, we would never have been together, and he'd be busy raising goats right now. Anyway, I finally got to see him, and we talked it over. He finally told me why he left like that.”

“If you had a little more empathy, Gellert, you could have figured it out for yourself.”

“And that's how we got together,” Gellert announced, without worrying about his lover's intervention. “We got married three hours later.”

“You were married?”

“Yes, a blood pact. It's the ancestral equivalent of a magical marriage.”

“Technically,” Gellert pointed out, “we're still married. But for the past month, Albus has been actively trying to divorce me by breaking the pact. That's when I realized that we had to work as one to put the pieces back together and make our relationship healthier.”

“I think that if you stopped killing, torturing and imprisoning people, our relationship would be much healthier.”

“And I think we need to find a way to get along and grow together, while keeping our individual passions.”

Hannibal moved deeper into his chair to take a step back from the two lovers sitting in front of him. It was going to be an exciting therapy. He felt the road ahead would be long but intense. Tears would be shed, secrets exposed, joys rediscovered and confessions ripped out. He felt that the history between the two men was tumultuous but deeply affectionate. There was so much to talk about and it would have made him dizzy if he had been capable of something so human. Instead, he had only the intoxication of discovering a subject of study capable of occupying his sprawling mind.

"There's still a lot to discover, about each of you individually, and about your couple, that's obvious. It will take time for us to dig deep enough to find you again and we will go a long way together. Some problems have begun to emerge, however. It is obvious that there is a problem in the way you communicate with each other. Gellert, you need to make room for listening, especially listening to your partner. Albus, you need to find ways other than blaming and criticism to convey your feelings and difficulties to Gellert.

“We have to adjourn for today, but between now and next week I'd like you to try two things. One, you Gellert, I'd like you to take some time during the week to sit down with Albus and ask him questions on something he's passionate about. I would like you to listen to him sincerely and try to take an interest in what he says and give him a chance to speak. You, Albus, I would like you to think about the thing you tolerate the least about Gellert and that, throughout the week, you refrain from making negative remarks on all other subjects, so that you can try to discern the roots of your difficulties and help reduce a little bit the aggressiveness that may have set in in your relationship.

“The second exercise, I would like that, by next week, each of you on your own has taken the time to think about two qualities of each other. Two real qualities that you admire and respect without tepidity or restriction. We will begin and end the session on that. It will be all the more necessary since, during this session, we will discuss together the reasons, according to you, for the deterioration of your relationship. »

Albus had a little laugh that had nothing to do with happiness. A bitter, painful, accusatory laugh that surprised Hannibal.

"Great, now we will be able get down to the subject of my sister's murder."

Hannibal smiled inwardly. He couldn't wait.


End file.
